Slate Money: "Money Talks: Beyond The Pink Tax"

Date: November 11, 2025
Host: Elizabeth Spiers (for Slate Money)
Guest: Anna Gifty Poku Agyeman, PhD student at Harvard and author of The Double: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid

Episode Overview

In this episode, Elizabeth Spiers interviews Anna Gifty Poku Agyeman about her new book, The Double: How Women of Color Are Overcharged and Underpaid. The conversation dives deep into the concept of the "pink tax"—the economic penalty women routinely pay for everyday goods and services—and expands to examine the layered costs faced by Black women due to both racism and sexism. Anna shares research insights, personal anecdotes, and policy critiques, while also discussing possible solutions and sources of hope for change.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding "The Pink Tax" and "The Double Tax"

• Pink Tax: Women pay more for the same products and services (ex: clothing, haircare).
• Double Tax: Black women (and women of color) economically penalized further due to overlapping systems of racial and gender discrimination.

Notable Quote

"The double tax is a compounded cost of racism and sexism."
— Anna Gifty Poku Agyeman (08:52)

[Timestamp: 08:52]

2. Shocking Realities: The Cost of Motherhood and Childcare

• Child-rearing in America is prohibitively expensive, especially without insurance.
  • Hiring a nanny can cost ~$40K/year, not including benefits.
  • The act of giving birth can result in bills exceeding $50K.
• Health insurance gaps mean many women go into debt just to have children.

Notable Quotes

"The cost of having kids was nuts... People are leaving the hospital with bills amounting to $50,000 plus. And if you don't have health insurance, that's something that you can go into debt for."
— Anna (03:29)

"Every time I hear J.D. Vance or someone stand up and say, all these women should be having more kids... I want to slit my wrist."
— Elizabeth Spiers (05:21)

3. Intersectionality in Homeownership and Real Estate

• Black women encounter barriers at every stage: buying, selling, and appraising property.
  • Women pay more (2% premium to buy) and receive less when selling homes (2% less), and Black buyers face further discrimination.
  • The appraisal industry is overwhelmingly white (~92–93%), introducing greater bias.
• Data from 2024: 49% of Black homebuyers are first-time buyers vs. 20% for whites (80% buying second+ home), highlighting a massive wealth gap.

Notable Quotes

"Even if you try to make it more culturally competent... they might get punished because they're representing you."
— Anna (13:53)

"Among home buyers of that year, 49% of Black homebuyers were first time homebuyers. For white homebuyers, it was 20%, which meant that 80%... were buying their second, third, fourth, or fifth home, which is nuts."
— Anna (15:39)

4. Attacks on Black Leaders: The Lisa Cook Example

• Anna explains the attacks on Fed Governor Lisa Cook as both racially and politically motivated and uses it to illustrate the "double tax."
• Removing Cook would represent a threat to economic stability and set a precedent for purging qualified professionals.

Notable Quotes

"If she is ousted, anybody from the Fed can be ousted because these are just mere allegations. ... That means you have to address it now."
— Anna (08:52)

5. Flaws in Political and Media Narratives about "The Working Class"

• Persistent media and political myth: "working class" is synonymous with white, non-college-educated men—when in reality, most working-class people are women and people of color.

Notable Quotes

"I don't think the people in power know who actually constitutes the working class."
— Anna (27:49)

"There is a tendency to use working class as an equivalent of a white non-educated man... even though most people in minimum wage jobs... are not."
— Elizabeth (28:11)

6. Safety Net Politics and Stereotypes

• U.S. welfare policy is haunted by Reagan-era myths ("welfare queens") and anti-Black stereotypes.
• Irony: The majority of SNAP recipients are white women, children, and the elderly.

Notable Quote

"When you tell white respondents a welfare program supports Black people, they are less likely to support it... This is a great example of why you want to address the double tax."
— Anna (25:33)

7. Sexism, The Glass Cliff, and Career Disruption

• The "glass cliff": Women (especially women of color) are elevated to leadership roles during crises, set up for failure.
• Kamala Harris as an example—set up for criticism regardless of context.

Notable Quotes

"If she succeeds, the person who's going to get credit is the person who put her there. And if she fails, she becomes the scapegoat."
— Anna (32:30)

8. Caregiving: Burden and Uncompensated Labor

• The caregiving load—both professional and personal—falls disproportionately on women of color, drawing a direct historical line from slavery to contemporary nannies and home aids.
• The expectation of care in families becomes a lifelong, unremovable obligation.
• Policy failures risk a "caregiving crisis" as Baby Boomers age.

Notable Quotes

"From mammies to nannies... in New York City you'll see a Black or brown person pushing a white baby in a stroller..."
— Anna (37:10)

"The moment that care is expected of you, that expectation never goes away."
— Anna (36:34)

9. Policy, Higher Education, and Class Mobility

• Attacks on higher ed/DEI are an effort to control economic mobility and preserve privilege.
• Affirmative action and legacy admissions are both critical levers in this battle.
• Universities provide a pipeline to wealth and power—the right sees limiting access as a means to maintain control.

Notable Quotes

"We have evidence that a lot of these Ivy League schools are pipelines into high paying, really great benefits jobs... So I'm not confused that these attacks are happening at institutions like that."
— Anna (39:10)

"43% of white students that were admitted into Harvard's 2019 class, they did not get in based on merit..."
— Anna (41:30)

10. Bright Spots & Solutions

Anna highlights what gives her hope:

• Real and serious conversations about reparations and closing the racial wealth gap.
• Pay transparency and greater organizing (such as unions) as boosts for worker power.
• Potential for expanding the child tax credit, though recognizing its current limitations.
• Women's electoral power continues to be underappreciated by the political establishment.

Notable Quotes

"One bright spot is... actual conversations happening about closing the racial wealth gap, centering some sort of reparations policy."
— Anna (15:39)

"Everyday people can talk to their colleagues about how much they get paid and that increases the floor for everyone. ... That's why unions are so, so important. And I would say that unions are a very, very bright spot."
— Anna (16:59)

Memorable Moments & Quotes (With Timestamps)

• "The double tax is a compounded cost of racism and sexism." (08:52) — Anna
• "The moment that care is expected of you, that expectation never goes away." (36:34) — Anna
• "Elections are determined by women." (31:47) — Anna
• "You don't want a bunch of hacks setting interest rates." (12:04) — Anna
• "Glass cliff... If she fails, she becomes the scapegoat." (32:30) — Anna

Segment Timestamps

• 00:48–02:57 — Introduction to Anna and her book
• 03:29–06:57 — The costs of motherhood and childbearing
• 07:53–12:23 — Lisa Cook, the Fed, and double standards
• 13:53–16:45 — Real estate discrimination and racial wealth gap
• 24:58–27:49 — SNAP, welfare myths, and who really benefits
• 32:30–34:20 — The glass cliff and Kamala Harris
• 34:42–38:19 — Care work, family obligations, and historical context
• 39:10–43:54 — Higher education, legacy admissions, and the caregiving crisis

Tone and Language

• The episode is candid, passionate, frequently laced with humor and frustration, and imbued with academic and policy expertise.
• Both host and guest blend personal anecdote with systemic critique, keeping the discussion relatable and urgent.

Conclusion

This episode of Slate Money compellingly expands on the concept of the pink tax, exposing how financial injustices magnify at the intersection of race and gender and underlining the urgent policy, cultural, and structural issues that perpetuate disparity. Anna Gifty Poku Agyeman brings a mix of data, history, storytelling, and critique—delivering a nuanced, actionable, and ultimately hopeful conversation for listeners concerned about economic justice.